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ISLAMABAD, Apr 06 (APP):The ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 is a few short months away and by April 19, all eight teams will have confirmed their places at the tournament.
Hosts, India are ready to welcome the best and the brightest of women’s One Day International cricket as one of the six teams to have already qualified, said a press release.
Defending champions Australia, secured their ticket to the 13th edition of the World Cup by finishing top of the ICC Women’s Championship (IWC) 2022-25.
The IWC 2022-25 saw ten nations compete with their ODI results across a three-year period totted up providing context to all ODI cricket played between these teams during that period.
With 18 wins and just three losses, Australia finished two points above India, with England rounding out the top three.
While Australia and England contended a record-breaking final in Christchurch in 2022, India did not make it out of the group stages and continued their search for their first ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup trophy.
The only other team to have won the Women’s Cricket World Cup besides multiple-time winners Australia and England are New Zealand, the hosts in 2022, having triumphed on home soil in 2000.
The White Ferns, who are the holders of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, earned a place at the 2025 edition by virtue of finishing as one of the top five teams, excluding hosts India, in the Women’s Championship table.
Finishing above them were three-time, semi-finalists South Africa, who are also still searching for a maiden ICC World Cup trophy after two near-misses at the Women’s T20 World Cups of 2023 and 2024.
The other team to have already booked their spot is Sri Lanka, who failed to qualify for the previous edition of the tournament, with the final qualifying spots for the 2022 tournament done on ranking due to the Covid-19 pandemic disrupting the cricketing schedule.
Bangladesh missed out on a spot in the Women’s Championship top six, and have joined the three other teams that competed in the Women’s Championship in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 Qualifier in Pakistan set to begin next week.
Captain Nigar Sultana will be hoping for an immediate return to the Women’s Cricket World Cup after Bangladesh made their debut at the 2022 edition.
At least one team from the previous tournament will not make it to India, with the West Indies and Pakistan also taking part in the Qualifier.
Ireland finished bottom of the ICC Women’s Championship and are searching for a return to the World Cup for the first time in 20 years.
The two other teams vying to qualify have never played in an ODI World Cup before, with Scotland and Thailand reaching the qualifiers based on their ICC Women’s ODI Rankings.
The former have very recent experience on a World Cup stage, however, playing in the last year’s Women’s T20 World Cup, but are still searching for a win.
Thailand had a memorable debut at the 2020 edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup, having come through the Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier of 2019, but like Scotland, went without a victory.
Only the top two teams at the end of the round-robin format tournament will make it to India.
Two venues in Lahore will host all of the matches, which begin on April 9 and sees hosts Pakistan take on Ireland, while Scotland face off against the West Indies.